Budget vs. Hobbies – Finding a Balance

Happy New Year all! Hope the holiday season was everything you wanted and that you received and gave everything that made your season perfect. I was actually quite ill over the holidays, struck with a seasonal flu (and maybe other bad bugs) that kept me at home for quite some time. Eventually, this becomes boring, so I turned my diminished brainpower to exploring a topic I had not explored lately: how best to balance budget and hobbies in retirement?

I actually have had a budget every year since retirement. And at the end of every year, I check it to see just how much difference it has not made to my end of year finances. I’ve decided to give it a more meaningful try for this coming year, especially since travel will be big on the agenda this year.

Budgeting has long been the mantra of financial planners who work with young investors, particularly the part about saving for retirement. But few seem to have good advice on how to manage that money after retirement. Why of course the floodgates open, no? This post is not financial advice. This post is about a few things I’ve learned about having fun responsibly in your golden years.

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Self Critiques in Photography

As we approach the end of summer here in the northern hemisphere, many activities will begin to ramp up after summer vacations. One of those is the resumption of camera club meetings. Many of us find our creative outlet there, along with camaraderie and friendly competition. For the past 7 years, I’ve been a member of a competitive camera club. One of the traditional validations of photographic work is through competition. It’s actually quite natural for us to think that one of the best validations of a photograph comes from having “expert judges” assign a number to it. But I no longer think that. Here’s why.

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